Nigel Wireker (aka Longchamps) was a monk at Christ Church, Canterbury, in the late 12th century, during and after the martyrdom of Thomas Becket. He is best known for his satire on monks 'The Mirror of Fools', but he also wrote religious poetry, preserved in this manuscript, a collection of works from Christ Church, Canterbury, copied between the late 12th and early 13th century. It includes other material such the 'Life of St Paul the Hermit' and chronicles or records of historical events. After the Reformation, the manuscripts in the volume belonged to the British bibliophile, Robert Cotton.

This page has a list of the writings contained in the volume. It was written centuries after the original manuscript, on a blank flyleaf, and makes special note of the poetic works. Nigel's poem on the Miracles of the Virgin begins the list, its meter identified (hexameter), followed by the 'Life of Paul the First Hermit' by St Jerome, other historical (one ending with the year 1217), poetic works, ending with the letters and a few sermons of Hildebert, bishop of LeMans and archbishop of Tours (c. 1055-1133), which were popular religious reading in the 12th and 13th centuries.